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Krug Preparing for 2012-13 in Connecticut

BOSTON, MA -- B's defenseman Torey Krug, who hails from Michigan, but who is in New England this summer, was in town early this week to take in a baseball game at Fenway Park.

Torey stopped by the Bobby Orr statue in front of the TD Garden. Click here for a larger view.

"I drove down from Connecticut where I’m training to see the Red Sox and Tigers play," said Krug of his trek to the Fens. "First and foremost, I’ve never been to Fenway and I want to see the history behind the building and the Boston Red Sox are just another winning organization in the city of Boston.

"So I’m looking to get the feel there and everywhere you go there can be a learning experience."

Even though the defenseman has already appeared in two NHL games with Boston, Krug's career as a Bruin remains centered around learning the pro game - a task that went into even higher gear at Development Camp.

"I think the main thing that I took away from development camp was just more experience of being a professional athlete," said Krug. "When you play college hockey you’re treated a little bit different, you have different expectations.

"More time being a pro has helped me go into my training. I treat my body right, I train right and just becoming a professional athlete."

But being a "pro" means more than performing on the ice or in the weight room and at the beginning of the summer Krug was in a unique position to be able to explain that fact to his fellow Dev Campers.

"Yeah, absolutely," said Krug. "You talk to a lot of guys there you make a lot of friends.

"We’re all on the same side now we’re all Boston Bruins. When guys ask you questions you try and give them the best advice you can and there are definitely a lot of questions being asked towards me and I did my best to try and give them good advice."

However, when September rolls around, the competition level will hit a higher gear and even though everyone will be wearing Black & Gold Krug knows he will be in a battle for playing time.

"The main thing that I’m trying to do right now is make myself unique," said the former Michigan State blueliner of his training focus. "I’m an undersized defenseman that’s no secret in order for me to make the team I have to bring something to the table that the other guys don’t have or something that the team needs so just working on being that puck moving defenseman who can join the rush.

"At the same time I gotta be able to take care of my own zone so the main thing for me right now is learning how to – to play defense against these bigger guys because frankly

"I’m not gonna be able to knock them down and put them where I want them to be, so I have to learn how to play using [more] body positioning."

As such, Krug hopes to use his offseason workouts to power up his own game as he competes for a roster spot.

"I don’t know if a lot of people understand that aspect of the game but you come to the rink, this is our job it’s our livelihood," he said. "We come to the rink every day and you have to be competitive, you have to push each other to the next level because in the end we all have the same goal of winning the Stanley Cup.

"So if you’re not working as hard as you can you’re gonna be ousted from your position and you’re not going to be where you want to be, so you have to come with a mental edge every single day."

For now, however, Krug is enjoying his time off and was excited about his stop at Fenway Park. But when BostonBruins.com asked the defenseman what snacks (hot dogs, pretzels, popcorn, etc.) he might take down at Boston's beloved ballpark, the rookie just laughed.

"Well, you’re in the middle of training you’re working -- right now we’re all working in the offseason in the gym and that doesn’t -- that’s not just lifting weights," said Krug. "It’s what you eat, what you put in your body and everything you put in there is fuel.

"So you are what you eat and I don’t want to [look like] a hot dog out there on the ice," added Torey with a chuckle.